Kyle Kahalehili Maez-Schaack, Kidnapping for Ransom, North Dakota 2024

North Dakota Man Sentenced for Kidnapping

A North Dakota man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in a kidnapping for ransom that resulted in the beating of a victim, holding him at gunpoint, and transporting him across state lines to Minnesota to collect an unpaid drug debt.

Kyle Kahalehili Maez-Schaack, 33, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for kidnapping, drug trafficking conspiracy, brandishing a firearm during the kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, in the early morning hours of March 5, 2024, Maez-Schaack, at the orders of a co-defendant and an unindicted co-conspirator, kidnapped the victim. The co-defendant sent Maez-Schaack a screenshot of the victim’s social media profile and his address and ordered Maez-Schaack to pick up the victim to collect a drug debt. The victim owed the co-defendant $6,000 for 500 grams of methamphetamine.

Maez-Schaack and others took the victim at gunpoint from Fargo, North Dakota, to Moorhead, Minnesota. There, the victim was held for ransom and ordered to call his friends and family to ask for money. Despite several calls to family and friends, the victim was unable to raise the funds to pay the ransom. At one point, the victim was left unattended in the Moorhead residence and was able to escape. Maez-Schaack and others kept the victim’s vehicle after the kidnapping.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division stated, “The drug business is a scourge that often leads to kidnappings and demands for ransoms related to drug debts. This collateral violence threatens the safety of communities. The lengthy sentence captures the seriousness of the drug-related conduct in this case and speaks to the collateral ills of the drug trade that ruins the lives of so many Americans.”

U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Chase for the District of North Dakota stated, “Too often drug trafficking is perpetuated by violent crime, as shown by Maez-Schaack. Our office, working alongside our federal and state partners, will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those committing violent acts and trafficking illegal drugs in our community.”

Maez-Schaack pleaded guilty on February 26 to the charges.

The FBI and ATF investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Pegah Vakili of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jake Rodenbiker and Richard Lee for the District of North Dakota prosecuted the case.

The entire Red River Valley and Devil’s Lake communities are safer now that Maez-Schaack will spend the next 30 years of his life in federal prison.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nd/pr/man-sentenced-kidnapping-victim-gunpoint-and-seeking-ransom-drug-debt